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Tree Pruning 



A. Des Cars 




A TREATISE 



PRUNING FOREST AND ORNAMENTAL TREES. 



..." If the forests should disappear, civiUzation would become 
extinguished on the earth. . . . 

"It is the duty of an enlightened community to plant trees, and 
to so care for them that posterity shall not suffer, — a duty unfortu- 
nately too little regarded in our day." — Decaisne. 



PUBLICATIONS 

OF THE 

ISassacfjusetts Societg for t\)z Promotian of ^Qxiculimz. 

A TREATISE 

ON 

PRIIIIE mm AID OMlMEim TREES. 

By a. DES cars. 

TRANSLATED FROM THE SEVENTH FRENCH EDITION. 



SSHitl) an CntroKuction 
By CHARLES S. SARGENT, 

PROFESSOR OF ARBORICULTURE IN HARVARD COLLEGE. 



THIRD EDITION. 



BOSTON: ^ 

PUBLISHED BY THE SOCIETY. 

1894. 



\ 



t 



Copyright y 1881, 
By Charles S. Sargent. 



University Press: 
John Wilson and Son, Cambridge. 



INTRODUCTION 



TO THE 



AMERICAN EDITION. 



The Trustees of the Massachusetts Society for the 
Promotion of Agriculture have intrusted me with the 
preparation of an American edition of the Count des 
Cars' treatise on Pruning Forest Trees. 

No comprehensive work on this subject has appeared 
before in the English language. This, perhaps, is not 
remarkable. In Great Britain the earlier plantations, 
largely inspired by the works of Evelyn, were made 
with the view of ornamenting private parks, and the 
question of increasing the individual capacity of trees 
to produce timber by any system of pruning was 
hardly considered. The economic plantations of later 
years, made in Scotland and afterwards in England, 
have been generally composed of coniferous species, 
which, when properly planted, largely prune them- 
selves. In America we have been too busy devising 
methods for cutting down our forests to give serious 
consideration to other branches of forest economy ; 
and the American people have yet to show whether 
they can ever replace the magnificent tree-covering 



VI TREE PRUNING. 

their ancestors found on this continent, and which 
they are now too rapidly and surely destroying. 

The advantage of pruning forest trees, in order to 
increase their yield of timber, was recognized in Ger- 
many as early as the beginning of the seventeenth 
century. At first warmly advocated, the practice 
seems to have been soon very generally abandoned ; 
and it was not until the writings of de Courval and 
des Cars, recommending a scientific system based on 
fundamental laws of vegetable physiology, again 
called public attention to the importance of the 
subject, that systematic pruning became a regular 
operation in all Continental forests. ^ 

Their system is based on the fact that, as wood is 
alone formed by descending, elaborated sap, a wound 

1 The following are the most important works which have been 

published on this subject : — 

Grundsatze der Forst-(Economie. Moser. 1775. 

Anhitung zur sicheren Erzielung der hewiischen iind fremden Holzarten. 
Burgsdorf. 1785. 

Lehrbtich fiir Forster. Hartig. 1811. 

BehandJung nnd Schatznng des Miltelwaldes. Pfeil. 1830. 

Theory and Practice of Horticulture, Chdi^.^lW. Lindley. 1855. 

Taille et Conduite des Arbres Forestiers. De Courval. 1861. 

L'Elagage des Arbres. Des Cars. 1864. 

Anleitung zum nationellen Betrieb der Aiisdstung. Von Muhlen. 1873. 

Forstliches Half sbuch fur Schuleund Praxis. Pressler. 1872. 

Schneiden und Ausdsten. Tramnitz. 1873. 

Sdmen und Pfianzen. Burckhard. 1874. 

Das Ausdsten der Waldbdume. Vitus Ratzka. 1874. 

Ueber die Folgen ausseren Verletzungen der Bdume. Goeppert. 1874. 

Notice sur VEIagage des Arbres, by Martinet. Published by the Admin- 
istration of the French Forests in connection with the national 
exhibition of forest products at the Paris Exposition of 1878, — a 
valuable paper to which I am indebted for much information. 



INTRODUCTION. vn 

made on a tree can only be recovered with healthy, 
new wood, when its entire circumference is brought 
into direct communication with the leaves by means 
of the layer of young and growing cells formed be- 
tween the wood and the bark. To make this connec- 
tion it is necessary to prune in such a manner that no 
portion of an amputated or dead branch shall be left 
on the trunk. The cut should always be made close 
to and perfectly even with the outline of the trunk 
without regard to the size of the wound thus ntade. 
This is the essential rule in all pruning, and on its 
observance the success of the operation depends. 

It is not probable that the practice of pruning forest 
trees will be generally adopted in the United States 
until the further destruction of our forests has carried 
the cost of forest products to a point where it will 
be profitable to plant and rear in this country new 
forests according to scientific methods. That time 
cannot be far distant ; and already many of our 
special industries dependent on certain hard woods 
feel the want of better and more abundant material. 
Some attention, especially in the Prairie States, has 
of late years been given to tree-planting, and large 
and successful plantations already exist in many parts 
of the country. The value of such plantations can 
be greatly increased by the early adoption of a scien- 
tific system of pruning, which, if applied also to the 
valuable hard-wood trees scattered over the more 
thickly populated portions of the country, could not fail 
to largely increase their productive capacity. 



^111 TREE PRUNING. 

The climate of the United States renders it de- 
sirable that our highways should be bordered with 
trees.^ They are necessary to protect the traveller 
from the cold winds of winter and the excessive heat 
of the summer sun. This necessity is recognized ; 
and city and roadside trees are everywhere planted. 
Such plantations, however, too often suffer from total 
neglect, or from injurious systems of pruning, which 
shorten rather than prolong the lives of trees, and 
diminish their usefulness and beauty. 

Des Cars' method of pruning might well be adopted 
by all persons in charge of highway plantations ; and 
the advantage of such a system being thus demon- 
strated, its general application to purely economic 
plantations, and to the timber trees scattered over 
the country, will naturally follow. 

C. S. Saegent. 

Brookline, 1881. 

J The importance of following in all street and roadside planting 
the rule which requires that every connected street must be planted 
with a single variety of tree should be insisted on. This plan is 
universally adopted in Europe, and its advantages over that which 
mixes various trees widely differing in habit, rapidity of growth, and 
longevity in the same street plantation, are very great. This will be 
seen by comparing the effect produced by the rows of Elms on tlie 
Mall in Central Park, or by the magnificent avenues of Live-oaks near 
Savannah, and on Cumberland Island, Georgia, with the mixed plan- 
tations too often seen in this country, and in which alternating Elms 
and Maples form a favorite combination. 



PREFACE TO THE FRENCH EDITION. 



I HAVE no claim to originality in this work, and 
my only object in its publication is to popularize 
de Courval's method of pruning, in order that all 
owners of rural property may increase the value of 
their trees in a simple, sure, and inexpensive manner, 
through a system of rational pruning. 

M. de Courval first laid down the principles on 
which the system I recommend is based ; and this 
little treatise is by no means intended to take the 
place of his larger work, which I cordially recom- 
mend to every one interested in forest management. 

I acknowledge the priority of M. de Courval's 
publication, and consider it an honor to follow in 
his footsteps ; although I am alone responsible for 
the system I recommend, which has, moreover, been 
reached through my own investigations and experi- 
ments. 

The illustrations scattered through the text have 
been drawn from nature and have one merit, — that 
of correctness. 

A. DES CARS. 



Professor J. Decaisne, Member of the Institute, Director of the 
Gardens of the Museum of Natural History, Paris. 

My dear Sir, — In your learned and brilliant address 
delivered at the Museum the thirtieth of April last, you 
sanctioned the method of pruning practised with perfect 
success for more than forty years by M. de Courval in the 
forests of his vast estate of Pinon (Aisue). 

M. de Courval has detailed his methods in a work ^ of great 
interest and value, but too technical, and too expensive per- 
haps, for general use. Having been long occupied in the 
study of this important subject, I prepared, several years ago, 
a purely practical treatise on pruning, almost identical in its 
conclusions with the more elaborate work of M. de Courval, 
although entirely based on my own observations and experi- 
ments. 

Your encouragement and the desire of M. de Courval have 
decided me to publish, almost in its original form, this treatise. 
It has been used by a few practical foresters, a class for which 
it is intended, although containing certain general considera- 
tions to which I desire to call the attention of all interested 
in sylviculture. 

The authority which you give me to place your name on 
this page is the best guarantee I can offer to the public that 
the system my humble production explains is based on true 
scientific principles ; and your name will contribute more than 
any other to the success of my efforts to preserve and develop 
an important and neglected source of the national wealth. 

A. DES CARS. 

Paris, June, 1864. 

1 Taille et conduite des arbres forestiers et autres arbres de grande 
dimension, ou Nouvelle methode de traitement des arbres a haute tige, etc. 
Paris, 1861. 



CONTENTS. 



CHAPTER I. 

PA(SE 

General Consideratioxs 5 

Formation of Wood 9 

Disadvantages of the Common System of Pruning .... 11 

Advantage of increasing the Number of Reserve Trees . . 15 



CHAPTER 11. 

Good Pruning. — Its Aims and Methods. — Division by 

Age of Reserve Trees into Four Classes .... 17 

Aim and Method of Pruning 17 

Classification of Forest Trees according to Age 19 



CHAPTER m. 

Application of the System 22 

Tools used in Pruning 22 

Ladders 23 

Hooks or Spurs 24 

The Dendroscope 25 

Selection of the Leader 27 

Shortening Main Branches 28 

Sap Lifters 29 

Double or Forking Branches 31 

The Amputation of Large Branches 34 

Use of Coal-tar in Dressing Wounds 36 



xii TREE PRUNING. 

CHAPTER IV. 

PAGE 

Method of Pruning Reserve Trees of Different Ages . 38 

Young Trees 38 

Middle-aged Trees 43 

Old Trees 44 

Veterans 46 



CHAPTER V. 

The Treatment of Old Wounds. — Cavities in the Trunk. 

— The Removal of Shoots 51 

Loosened Bark 52 

Cavities in the Trunk 52 

Removal of Shoots 54 



CHAPTER VI. 

Season for Pruning. — The Use of Coal-tar 57 

Season for Pruning 57 

The Use of Coal-tar 58 

Objections to other Preparations 58 

Effects of Coal-tar on the Elm 59 

Employment of Coal-tar in Protecting Young Plantations 

against Animals 60 

Employment of Coal-tar on Fruit Trees 60 



CHAPTER VH. 

Soft Woods. — Poplars. — Conifers 62 

Soft Woods 62 

Poplars 62 

Conifers 63 



ILLUSTRATIONS. 



PAGE 

Fig. 1. Badly pruned Beech 7 

" 2. Young unpruned Oak 8 

" 3. Trunk of an Oak ruined by the decay of its lower 

branches 9 

" 4. Decay caused by the breaking of a large branch ... 10 

" 5. Formation of wood by the descending sap 11 

" 6. Effect of bad pruning 12 

" 7. Section of a trunk showing the effects of good and bad 

pruning 13 

" 8. Portion of a branch left in pruning 13 

" 9. Portion of a branch left in pruning at the end of the fifth 

year 14 

" 10. Portion of a branch left in pruning at the end of the tenth 

year 15 

"11. Trunk ruined by the decay of the stump of a branch . . 15 

" 12. Form for young tree 20 

" 13. Form for middle-aged tree 20 

" 14. Form for old tree 21 

" 15. Form for very old tree 21 

" 16. Pruning knife 22 

" 17. Hook used in carrying pruning knife 22 

" 18. Manner of carrying pruning knife 23 

" 19. Manner of carrying pruning knife 23 

" 20. Manner of attaching the ladder to the tree 24 

" 21. Manner of using dendroscope 26 

" 22. Formation of a leader 27 

" 23. Formation of a head with several branches 28 

" 24. Method of shortening a main branch 29 

" 25. Treatment for a forking branch 30 



XIV TREE PRUNING. 



PAGE 

Method of shortening a main branch 32 

Pruning badly commenced 33 

Method of cutting a large branch 35 

Method of cutting a large branch 36 

Proper appearance of a wound made in pruning ... 36 

Formation of a leader on a young tree 39 

Method of supporting a young tree 39 

Young tree properly pruned 40 

Method of forming a leader on a young tree .... 40 

Method of forming a leader on a young tree .... 41 

First pruning of a young tree 41 

Treatment of a forked tree 42 

Method of pruning a weak sapling 42 

Tree forty years old. First pruning 43 

Tree sixty years old. First pruning 43 

Badly shaped tree. First pruning 44 

Old Oaks. First pruning 45 

Old Oaks. First pruning 45 

Method of pruning an old tree to preserve its younger 

neighbor 46 

Very old tree. First pruning 47 

Trunk of Oak injured by neglect 48 

The same two years after treatment 48 

Oak restored to vigor by pruning 49 

Treatment of an old wound 52 

Treatment of cavities in the trunk 54 

Pruning hook 55 

Formation of branches on young trees 56 

Pine badly pruned 64 

The dendroscope 67 



Fig. 26. 


'' 27. 


" 28. 


- 29. 


" 30. 


" 31. 


" 32. 


" 33. 


" 34. 


" 35. 


" 36. 


" 37. 


" 38. 


" 39. 


" 40. 


" 41. 


" 42. 


" 43. 


*' 44. 


" 45. 


" 46. 


" 47. 


" 48. 


" 49. 


" 50. 


" 51. 


" 52. 


" 53. 


'' 54. 



TREE PRUNING. 



TREE PRUNING. 



CHAPTER I. 

GENERAL CONSIDERATIONS. 

The appearance of many trees, their trunks cov- 
ered with gaping wounds, protuberances, and the 
stumps of dead branches, clearly indicates that they 
have received careless or ignorant treatment. It is 
evident even to persons little familiar with the art 
of Sylviculture that such trees are decayed to the 
heart, and of httle value for industrial purposes. 
The number of trees thus affected is very great, 
and the annual aggregate loss to the community 
from the bad management to whic?i trees are every- 
where subjected is enormous. Such a condition is 
the result generally of entire neglect of pruning, 
or often, perhaps, of an unnatural and therefore 
improper system. 

The idea of increasing the productive capacity of 
forests by systematic pruning is not a new one, — no 
process of Sylviculture has been more often discussed. 
In Belgium, where more than in any other country 



6 TREE PRUNING. 

the subject of forest management has occupied the 
public mind, the two legislative chambers, a few 
years ago, discussed this subject at great length with- 
out reaching any satisfactory conclusion; in France, 
authorities do not yet agree, — some condemn all 
pruning, while others believe in the advantage of 
pruning, but without agreeing on the best methods 
to adopt. 

Certain theorists declare that there is an absolute 
correlation between the roots and the branches of a 
tree, and that the catting off of a branch necessarily 
kills the corresponding root. If such a theory is cor- 
rect, how can the results obtained by cutting back 
young trees to the ground or the topping of pollards, 
by which all branches are suppressed, be explained ? 

A more serious objection to pruning, which is often 
made by timber dealers, — the persons, perhaps, most 
interested in the matter, and therefore most compe- 
tent to judge, — is that trees which have been pruned 
lose by the operation twenty-five, thirty, or even fifty 
per cent of their value, that is, a quarter to a half, 
and that such trees are generally decayed. Tliis can- 
not be denied ; but it proves that such trees have 
been badly pruned, — not that all pruning is bad. 
Opponents of pruning maintain, too, that the scars 
which such operations must leave on the trunks of 
trees indicate internal defects in the wood, and that 
these trees cannot be readily sold. This objection is 
also well founded in view of the manner in which the 
operations of pruning are generally performed ; but 



GENERAL CONSIDERATIONS. 



it is the method which is fault}^ and such objections 
must disappear before more scientific and rational 
treatment. 

A glance at Fig. 1 shows the effects of bad prun- 
ing. Here the trunk of a Beech is represented 
mutilated, and in a condition 
which might well justify the 
general condemnation of prun- 
ing, if pruning was always fol- 
lowed by such results. 

A system of forest manage- 
ment which discards pruning 
is disastrous, and, even if it 
were less so, would have many 
practical objections. A tree 
left entirely to itself gener- 
ally develops in one of two 
directions. It does not grow 
upwards and assumes the low 
round form common to the 
apple-tree ; the lower branches ^. , „ „ ^ , 

^ ^ Fig. 1. — Badly pruned Beech ; 

grow disproportionately large its trunk covered with cavities of 

^ ^ - different depths and partly filled 

and absorb too much sap, with water. 
to the detriment of the top of the tree ; and these 
long, heavy branches are often broken by the wind 
or by snow and ice, leaving hideous stumps (Fig. 2). 
Trees of this form are very common ; they gen- 
erally decay at the top before reaching maturity, 
and have little commercial value. On the other 
hand, many vigorous trees grow disproportionately 




8 TREE PRUNING. 

at the top ; the lower branches die from insufiScient 
nourishment, fall off, and leave, when large, bare 




Fig. 2. — A young unpruned Oak growing in rich soil. A. Dead 
branches. B. Branches broken by the wind or by the weight of 
snow and ice. 

decaj^ed spots, which gradually penetrate to the 
heart of the tree, and ruin also its commercial 
value (Fig. 3). 

Wounds caused by the breaking off of large 
branches by wind or snow produce the same results 
(Fig. 4). Ther^ is no remedy for the dangerous 
effects of such accidents except in pruning ; it is a 
simple question of surgery. Without pruning, the 
tree must sooner or later decay ; with pruning, its 
value may be preserved. 

The secret of obtaining a complete cure in all 
operations requiring the removal of a branch, either 
living or dead, consists in cutting close to^ and perfectly 
even with, the trunk. Many authorities have hinted 
at this, the cardinal principle of all pruning ; but M. 



GENERAL CONSIDERATIONS. 



9 



de Courval first clearly demonstrated its importance, 
while his discovery of the value of coal-tar or the 
refuse from gas-works as a 
covering for wounds made 
in pruning renders the ap- 
plication of his rule in all 
cases entirely safe. 

Formation of Wood. — The 
reason that a branch should 
be cut close and even with 
the trunk is found in one 
of the simple laws of plant 
life. It is known that sap 
has a double movement, — 
that it mounts from the 
roots to the leaves, and 
returns again in an elabo- 
rated condition to the roots. 

Roots take up water from ^'^-3. -Portion of the trunk of an 
^ unpruned Oak ruined by the decay of its 

the soil in which there are lower branches. 
various salts in solution. This water rises to the 
leaves ; these absorb from the air and decompose 
carbonic acid gas, the basis of which is carbon, 
which combined with water constitutes the elements 
of wood. The sap thus elaborated by the leaves 
is carried down again in a liquid state and is 
deposited, year after j^ear, in the successive concen- 
tric layers of wood which form the trunks of all 
trees, with the exception of Palms, Yuccas, &c., 
which need not now be considered. 




10 



TREE PRUNING. 




Fig. 4. — UnprunedOak, 
decaying after the loss of a 
large branch broken by the 
wind. 



It follows that a wound caused by the amputation 
of a branch must, in order to heal properly, be made 
perfectly even with the trunk, that 
every part of its outer edge may be 
brought into direct communication 
with the leaves through the net- 
work of cells destined to convey 
the descending sap. Although this 
theory rests on one of the most 
elementary principles of vegetable 
physiology, it has not been applied 
before to practical forest manage- 
ment. The amputation having 
been made even witli the trunk 
in the manner explained, new wood will soon appear, 
forming first round the top and sides of the wound, 
which is soon completely surrounded by the new 
growth ; the wound is gradually healed over, and 
the decay of the trunk prevented. The time required 
for the complete healing of a wound depends, of 
course, npon its dimensions and the natural vigor 
of the tree. 

The principle being established that large wounds 
can be made without injury to the tree if care is 
taken in the manner indicated to prevent decay, it 
is easy to show the advantage of cutting off injured 
branches of any size. It is preferable to avoid, of 
course, the necessity of making large wounds by 
properly pruning trees when young. All foresters 
agree that trees should be trained when young, but 



GENEBAL CONSIDERATIONS. 11 

de Courval has amply clemonsti'atecl by numerous 
remarkable specimens exhibited at the Agricultural 
Show of Paris, in 1861, and at the Universal Exposition 
of London, in 1862, that it is beneficial, and often in- 
dispensable, to prune the oldest trees if care and judg- 
ment are used in the operation. He has clearly 
shown, too, that trunks so treated attained a larger 
size and a greater value in a given time than those 
which, under similar conditions of growth, liad been 
allowed to retain all their badly placed branches. 
I reo-ret in this connection to differ from so eminent 
an authority as de Breuil, who gives the following 
rule : " Amputations must be performed in such a 
manner that the diameter of the wound shall not 
exceed that of the end of the branch." Such a 
practice must, I believe, be dis- 
astrous, for whenever a branch 
of large size is amputated in tliis 
way, it is evident that a cavity 
in the trunk of the tree will 
sooner or later appear. 

Disadvantages of the Common Sys- 
tem of Pruning. — As descending 
sap alone forms the new bark and ^'^' ^' 

wood which heal over a wound, it follows that, if 
a cut is made in the manner represented by the 
line A B (Fig. 5), the new growth cannot cover 
over the lower part, B C, which is cut off from 
communication with the leaves ; so that the wood 
included in the lines A B, AC, not being covered 




12 TREE PRUNING. 

with a new growth must soon begin to decay, and in 
time destroy the trunk of the tree (Fig. 6). Ex- 
amples of this bad method are very common. Each 
amputation of a branch produces a cavity, and the 
tree soon becomes entirely decayed. In view of such 
destruction, it might seem, perhaps, that branches of 
a certain diameter cannot be safely amputated. That 
this is an erroneous idea will be easily seen ; and it is 
only necessary to make the amputation even with the 
trunk, and then cover the wound with coal tar to 
avoid all bad Results. Although 
wounds caused by the amputation 
of small branches heal over in spite 
of the faulty methods of pruning 
generally employed, such opera- 
tions are, nevertheless, attended 
with considerable danger to the 
tree. Protuberances are formed 
. ^ on the trunk at the points where 

Fig. 6. — Decaying Oak, '■ 

showing the effect of ampu- tlic branclics havc bccu cut, and 

tating a branch in such a^ , i-ip n 

way that the diameter of the thcSC produCC a multltudc ot Small 

wound doe. not exceed the ^^^^ ^J^^^^g .^ j.. rj^^ rj.^^ 

diameter of the base of v ? o -^ 

the branch. development of such shoots in- 

dicates that a tree is in an unnatural condition, which 
may be entirely avoided by cutting the branch even 
with the trunk (B, Fig. 7). 

Experience and common-sense show the objection 
to leaving any portion of an amputated limb, but 
there is greater danger in allowing stumps one or 
two feet long to remain on the trunk, a common 




GENERAL CONSIDERATIONS. 



13 



practice even among persons interested in the preser- 
vation of trees (Fig. 8). 




Fig. 7. — Longitudinal section of the trunk of an 
Oak cut twenty years after pruning. A. A medium- 
sized branch badly amputated. B. A large branch 
properly amputated 

These stumps, deprived of communication with the 
leaves, die, the bark falls off, while the stumps them- 
selves remain like plugs of 
decaying wood driven into 
the trunk (Fig. 9). 

In a few years the stumps 
rot (Fig. 10), and decay 
penetrates to the heart of 
the tree. Fig. 11 shows the 
fatal results of this method 
of pruning. 

The method of pruning 
deciduous forest trees, and especially the Oak, will be 
first considered in this treatise. The Oak is selected 
as the most valuable of our timber trees, and because 
unfortunate and deeply rooted prejudices exist in 




Fig. 8. — Stump of a branch left 
in pruning. 



14 



TREE PRUNING. 




regard to the manner in which it should be pruned. 
Particular attention will be given to the treatment of 
trees intended to grow on to 
maturity, in connection with 
a system of coppice growth, 
because this system of forest 
management is now very gen- 
erally adopted.^ The methods 
here advocated are, however, 
equally applicable to other 
systems of sylviculture ; and 
they should interest small as 
well as large land owners, as in every field and along 
every roadside are trees to prune and improve. If 
the importance of properly caring for trees could 
be appreciated, an important addition to the wealth 
of the nation might easily be made. Oaks, stunted 
or abandoned, and only fit for fuel, might in a few 
years be transformed into trees of great value ; and, if 
all who prune may not themselves find their reward, 
they can at least have the satisfaction of doing some- 
thing to benefit another generation. 



Fig. 9. — Condition of the stump 
at the end of the fifth year. 



^ Futaie sur taillis, a term which is without equivalent in the Eng- 
lish language, is applied in France to a very common system of 
forest management. It consists in allowing a certain number of 
selected trees in a plantation to grow to maturity, while the remainder 
is treated as coppice, or " sprout land," and cut over at stated periQds, 
varying from ten to fifty years, according to the nature of the soil or 
the necessity or wishes of the proprietor. The trees left to reach 
maturity are called "reserves," and are intended to furnish large 
timber for purposes of construction. These, of course, receive the 
greatest care and most careful pruning. c. s. s. 



GENERAL CONSIDERATIONS. 



15 




Fig. 10. — Condition of the stump 
at the end of the tenth year. 



Advantage of increasing the Number of Reserve 
Trees. — In addition to the advantages which each 
individual tree may derive 
from the metliod of prmiing 
recommended in this treatise, 
there is a possibility of add- 
ing, and, in fact, doubling the 
number of reserve trees in a 
plantation without interfer- 
ing with the coppice or grow- 
ing sprouts which surround 
them. 

If it can be proved that the number of timber trees 
may be doubled in a plantation by good management, 
and that the value of indi- 
vidual trees scattered through 
the fields and along the road- 
sides may be wonderfully in- 
creased, it is easy to under- 
stand that a land-owner may 
greatly benefit himself and 
add to the wealth of his 
country by adopting such 
methods. 

That pruning can accom- 
plish the results which are claimed for it is found in 
the fact that trees treated by the rational system 
proposed grow more vigorously and retain their 
foHage longer than unpruned trees in the same 
locality grown under similar conditions. 




Fig. 11. — Trunk of an Oak ruined 
by the decay of the stump of a 
branch. 



16 TREE PRUNING. 

Authorities agree on the influence which trees exert 
on the climate, the watercourses and the fertility of 
the soil. Economically indispensable trees are not 
less important in their influence on the health of man. 
Trees purify the air we breathe by absorbing noxious 
gases, and it is clearly for the interest of the com- 
munity to preserve and multiply the forests, which 
protect the human race from many evils. 



ITS AIMS AND METHODS. IT 



CHAPTER II. 

GOOD PRUNING.— ITS AIMS AND METHODS.— DIVI- 
SION BY AGE OF RESERVE TREES INTO FOUR 

CLASSES. 

Aim and Method of Pruning. — The object of pruning, 
economically considered, is to make it possible to 
raise on a given surface, say on one hundred acres 
of sprout land, the greatest number of full-grown 
trees, and to make them attain the greatest value 
in the shortest time without injury to the young 
trees beneath them. This may be accomplished by 
increasing the vigor of the reserve trees and by 
lengthening, without diminishing in diameter, their 
trunks. Treated in this manner the reserve trees 
do not interfere with the circulation of air and light 
necessary to the development of the undergrowth ; 
and many serious accidents caused to trees by wind, 
frost, and snow breaking the larger branches may be 
avoided by keeping their heads symmetrical and up- 
right. 

The perfect forest tree has a straight, single trunk 
without protuberances or wounds, and carrying up 
the same diameter to the first branches, which should 

2 



13 TREE PRUNING. 

be placed at a distance from the ground equal to 
one-third or one-half of the total height of the tree. 
The head should be rounded, regular, and set up- 
right on the trunk. The wood, owing to the healthy 
growth of the tree, is straight-grained, compact, and 
suitable for construction. Such trees have a high 
value ; and, in order to grow them, a method of prun- 
ing is adopted similar to that practised by gardeners 
in forming pyramidal fruit trees, with the difference, 
however, that the gardener favors the development 
of the lower branches, which are necessary for his 
purpose, while the aim of the forester is to increase 
foliage at the top of the tree by diminishing the vigor 
of the lower branches ; and to obtain by successive 
suppressions of branches the necessary length of 
trunk. 

There are two distinct operations in pruning : the 
removal of some branches, the shortening of others. 
The shape of a tree must depend somewhat, of course, 
upon its age, the nature of its surroundings, and the 
character of the soil, etc. Where pruning is not 
practised the reserve trees approach the proper form 
in proportion to the length of time the coppice 
beneath them is allowed to grow. In forests, where 
thirty or more years are allowed to elapse between 
the cuttings, the undergrowth serves to prune the 
permanent trees by checking the development of 
their lower branches, and thus determining the height 
of their trunks. Sprout land is, however, often cut 
over every ten years ; and this practice prevents the 



ITS AIMS AND METHODS. 19 

production of fine trees by permitting the growth 
of their lower branches. These, of course, interfere 
with the growth of the reserve trees themselves as 
well as with the young trees between them. Judi- 
cious pruning can obviate this difficulty. 

Classification of Forest Trees according^ to Age. — The 
technical names b}^ which reserve trees are known 
vary in different regions. For our purpose it will be 
best to divide the life of a forest tree into four prin- 
cipal periods, designated as follows : — 

1. Young, up to about forty years. 

2. Middle-aged, from forty to eighty years. 

3. Old, from eighty to one hundred and fifty 
years. 

4. Very old trees, whose number is rapidly di- 
minishing, may be called Veterans.^ 

These divisions are not, of course, absolute, as it is 
often difficult to determine, even approximately, the 
aofe of a standing: tree ; and the forester must use 
considerable judgment in the application of the fol- 
lowing rules : — 

1. The head of the young tree should be egg- 
shaped or elongated oval (Fig. 12), and well balanced 

1 The technical terms employed in France to designate trees of the 
four classes into which forest trees are generally divided, Baliveau, 
Moderne, Anciei^and Vieilles €corces , have no equivalent as yet, and are 
not well translc^ed into English. The term " Baliveau " is also some- 
times applied to reserve trees of any age left after tlie first cutting off 
of a plantation, and such trees are then called " Modernes " or 
" Anciens," according as they have been allowed to remain after a 
second or third cutting of the coppice. c. s. s. 



20 



TREE PRUNING. 



on the trunk, which should not exceed a third of the 
entire height of the tree. The lower branches should 





F/?. 12. — Cor- 
rect form of head 
for a tree under 
forty years old. 



Fig. 13. — Cor- 
rect form of head 
for a tree forty to 
eighty years old. 



be sufficiently shortened to check their excessive 
growth at the expense of the leader, without, how- 
ever, being so reduced as to impair the vigor of 
growth of the tree. 

2. The head of the middle-aged tree should form 
an oval less elongated than that necessary for trees 
of the first class. The height of the trunk should 
equal one-third to two-fifths of the height of the 
tree (Fig. 13). 

3. The head of the old tree (Fig. 14) should be 
gradually rounded in outline ; the trunk may, in 
some cases, be made to reach a height equal to half 
the height of the tree, which has now probably ceased 
to grow upwards. 



ITS AIMS AND METHODS. 



21 



4. Veterans (Fig. 15). Trees classed as veterans 
have generally ceased to increase in size. They 




J \ 

Fig. 14. — Correct form of 
head for a tree eighty to one 
hundred and fifty years old. 




Fig. 15. — Correct form of 
head for a very old tree. 



gradually become flat-headed, and spread out, with- 
out, however, greatly injuring the adjoining coppices 
and plantations destined to take their place. 

The proper method of pruning trees in each of 
these four divisions will be considered hereafter. 

It is well to remember that the forms recommended 
are those nature gives the most perfect and most 
beautiful trees ; although it is the economic and not 
the picturesque aspect of trees which is here under 
consideration. 



22 TREE PRUNING. 




CHAPTER III. 

APPLICATION OF THE SYSTEM. 

Tools used in Pruning. — The most convenient tool 
for pruning is a straight-bladed cleaving knife. Suc- 
cess in all operations of pruning depends on 
the neatness of the cut, and this cannot be 
attained with the common billhook used in 
many parts of France. The best tool for 
- the purpose is (Fig. 16) one which has 
been used for many years in Holland, and 
which has lately been improved by de 
Fig. 16. - Courval. It weighs from 2 lbs. 12 oz. 

Improved 

pruningknife. to 3 Ibs. 6 OZ., Or morc, according to the 

sixteeuinches.'"st^'6ngth of tlic workmau. The blade is 

reinforced in the middle to increase its 

t strength and concentrate the weight. In 
the north of France this tool is generally 
Fig. 17.- hung to an iron hook (Fig. 17) attached 
[r^attelS ^^ ^ leather strap buckled round the work- 
the pruning niau's waist, who is thus left perfectly free 

knife to the 

belt. in his movements (Fig. 18). 

In pruning tall trees, or trees otherwise difficult 
to climb, the leather belt may with advantage be 
passed over the shoulder, thus bringing the pruning 



APPLICATION OF THE SYSTEM. 



23 



knife under the arm in a position from which it can- 
not easily be dislodged in climbing (Fig. 19). To in- 
sure greater safety in climbing tall trees, a stout cord 
attached to the workman's waist may be fastened 
round the trunk in such a manner as to prevent, in 
case of accident, a dangerous fall. A hatchet is use- 





Fig. 18. — Pruning knife 
carried at the waist. 



Fig. 19. — Pruning knife 
carried under the arm. 



ful, and facilitates the operation of pruning ; it may 
be used with one or both hands, and serves to lop off 
large branches, protuberances on the trunk, or the 
dead stumps of branches, which from their hardness 
would soon dull the edge of the best pruning knife. 
A saw, too, is very useful in cutting large branches, 
but it requires so much practice to use this tool skil- 
fully that it cannot be generally recommended. 

Ladders. — Each laborer should be equipped with a 
light ladder, proportionate to the height of the tree 
on which he is to operate, and broader at the base 
than at the top. De Courval recommends that the 



24 



TREE PRUNING. 



feet of ladders intended for this purpose should be 
pointed to prevent them from slipping. This is a good 
plan, although hardly sufficient to prevent accident, 
and the top of the ladder should be fastened with a 
strong rope to the trunk of the tree to prevent it from 
being thrown down by falling branches (Fig. 20). 
Hooks or Spurs. — Except in very exceptional cases, 
or where very large trees are 
to be operated on, the climb- 
ing spurs sometimes used by 
professional pruners should 
not be allowed. These men, 
paid according to the number 
of trees operated on or the 
quantity of wood cut, have 
no idea in pruning be- 
yond cutting the largest 

F.^. 20. -Ladder fastened with a ^mOUUt of WOOd iu the short- 
rope and carrying on the top-round 

the pail of coal- tar. est time. Climbing spurs 

should never be used by good workmen even, in 
pruning young trees, whose bark is not sufficiently 
thick to resist the wounds caused by the sharp iron 
teeth of this tool. Wounds made in this way en- 
courage the growth of injurious side shoots on the 
trunk, and leave defects in the wood which never 
disappear, and diminish its value. 

The future value of a tree depends upon the man- 
ner in which the operation of pruning has been per- 
formed ; and the persons to whom this work is 
intrusted should fully understand its importance. 




APPLICATION OF THE SYSTEM. 25 

Unskilful or injudicious pruning may completely 
ruin a tree, and the difficulty of obtaining labor 
capable of doing such work intelligently causes, no 
doubt, many arboriculturists to completely neglect 
pruning of every kind. 

The Dendroscope. — The tree requiring pruning 
should be carefully studied from the ground, that 
the operator may be able to judge intelligently 
which branches should be removed or shortened in 
order to reduce it to the desired shape. This may at 
first seem difficult to beginners in the art of pruning ; 
and a dendroscope, the name suggested for a simple 
little contrivance, the use of which is shown at Fig. 
21, may be here used with advantage. A dendroscope 
may be made from a piece of thin board or card-board 
(a playing card answers the purpose), in which a hole 
of the shape it is desired to reduce the tree to has been 
cut (see Figs. 12, 13, 14, 15). Across the middle 
of the hole, from top to bottom, a piece of fine wire 
is stretched to serve as a guide to the eye. 

Holding the dendroscope at the level of the eye, 
with the wire opposite the centre of the trunk of the 
tree to be studied, the operator approaches the tree 
until the bottom of the cut falls on the trunk at 
the ground line. It is easy to see at a glance with 
the aid of this contrivance what operations should 
be performed iu order to reduce the tree to the 
desired shape. ^ 

1 A glance at the dendroscope placed at the end of this volume will 
show the advantage of using such an aid to the eye. 



26 



TREE PRUNING. 



Remembering that under ordinary circumstances, 
a vigorous, handsome tree must have a straight, 
vertical trunk and an evenly balanced head, the first 




object of pruning should be to produce these condi- 
tions. The head, as has already been explained, 
should be oval in form ; the height of this, however; 



APPLICATION OF THE SYSTEM. 



27 



must depend on the size of the trunk and the age 
of the tree when first subjected to the operations of 
pruning. 

Selection of the Leader. — The branch most nearl}^ per- 
pendicular on the trunk of the tree should be selected 
to form the leader ; and it may be stated as an abso- 
lute rule, that whenever a branch near the top of the 
tree stands vertically on the trunk, or even on any 
'part of the trunk, it should he preserved for the leader 
(Fig. 22). 




Fig. 22. — Oak sixty j-ears old. Formation of a 
leader from a vertical branch. 

And it is wrong to suppose that only the original 
leader can be used. Its place may be often supplied 
by one of the lateral branches even ; and by shorten- 
ing the other branches to stimulate the growth of the 
new leader, the tree will, in a few years, straighten up 
in a manner which will appear astonishing to persons 



28 



TREE PRUNING. 



unfamiliar with the results which may be obtained 
from a sensible system of pruning. 

If none of the branches near the top of the tree 
naturally approach a vertical position, two or three or 
several branches should be preserved to form a com- 
pact head, as represented in Fig. 23. If the tree so 




Fig. 23. — Oak with irregular head formed with 
several large branches. 

treated is young, it is desirable, if possible, to establish 
the fork at a distance from the ground equal to at 
least one third of the height which the tree may be 
expected to attain at maturity. 

Shortening Main Branches. — Starting from the top 
of the tree, where the operation of pruning should 
always begin, the leader is first formed with the 
branch selected for this purpose ; the head is made 
with a single leader ; or, in case of necessity (Fig. 
23), with several leaders. The principal branches, if 



APPLICATION OF THE SYSTEM. 29 

too long, should then be shortened, especially those 
inclined to assume a vertical position or to grow with 
too great vigor at the expense of the leader ; such 
branches are called gourmands. It will be seen that 
the right point at which to shorten these vertical 
branches is the point where they begin to assume 
an upriglit growth (A and B, Fig. 24). 




Fig. 24. —Double shortening of a main branch. A. Gourmand 
branch. B. Secondary branch. C. Small branch retained to insure a 
proper flow of sap. 

In shortening branches, the cut should, if possible, 
be made above the point of development of one or 
several secondary ascending branches ; these in turn 
should also be cut just above one of their secondary 
branches. In this way the direction of the main 
branch maybe entirely changed(Fig. 24), and its dis- 
proportionate vigor checked to the benefit of the 
leader and the whole tree. 

Sap Lifters. — The name of sap lifter ^ may, for want 
of a better term, be given to the branch or branches 
retained at the end of the shortened main branch. 

1 Branche d'appel. 



30 TREE PRUNING. 

The name indicates the object for which such branches 
are left ; namely, to attract and elaborate, by means 




Fig. 25. — Removal of a portion of a forking branch. A. Preser- 
vation of a horizontal fork at the end of a shortened branch. 

of their leaves, a sufficient flow of sap to insure the 
growth of the branch. Sometimes the main branches 
are so long that it is impossible for the operator to 
reach the ends where the sap-lifting branchlets should, 
of course, be left. In the case of the Oak, such 
branches, except for the appearance of the tree, are 
of little importance ; and provided the main branch 
retained is of a certain length (ten or twelve feet), 
and if it, is large and on a large healthy tree, a suffi- 
cient number of new shoots to insure vigorous growth 
will soon appear. With the Beech, however, and 
some other trees which do not develop shoots from 
dormant buds as freely as the Oak, it is necessary to 
cut the branch just above the forking of another 
branch or branchlet large enough to attract sufficient 
sap to insure a healthy growth. 



APPLICATION OF THE SYSTEM. 31 

Double or Forking Branches. — In the case of a double 
branch, or of a branch forking close to the trunk of 
the tree, one of these branches (Fig. 25) should 
always be removed, that the base of the branch may 
not become disproportionately large. If, however, 
such double branches are objectionable near the trunk 
of the tree, they are of great importance at the extrem- 
ities of main branches ; and whenever it is possible, 
branches should be shortened in such a manner as to 
secure forking branchlets at their ends. These give 
to the tree a more natural appearance, and by divid- 
ing the flow of sap prevent the growth of too vigorous 
shoots, which might in time develop into supplemen- 
tary leaders, to the injury of the tree. For this 
reason it is necessary to remove all branches or 
branchlets assuming a vertical growth or inserted 
on the upper side of a shortened branch, in order 
to check the tendency of such branches to grow 
too vigorously at the expense of the leader (Fig. 
26). 

Although essential in pruning young trees, this is 
less important in the case of older trees with large 
full heads, which in themselves have a tendency to 
check an unnaturally strong growth of any individual 
branch ; and, in operating on old trees, the preserva- 
tion of vigor in the shortened branch is the principal 
object to be attained. It is almost unnecessary to add 
that only main branches directed towards the outside 
of the tree should be preserved, and that branches 
which from any cause have turned back towards the 



32 TREE PRUNING. 

trunk should be headed in, as well as branches with 
too great a tendency to droop unnaturally ; generally, 




Fi^. 26. — Effect of preserving a vertical secondary branch on the 
upper side of a shortened main branch. A. Branch thus retained, ex- 
cessively developed at the expense of the rest of the tree. B. Sap lifter of 
the right size left on the lower side of the main branch to insure its 
development. 

it will only be necessary to shorten such branches 
to induce them to reassume a natural direction of 
growth. 

When several branches have been developed from 
one node, forming what botanists call a whorl, they 
should not all be cut away at the same time, lest the 
circulation of sap be checked by the destruction of 
bark (and consequently of cambium layer) over too 
large a surface. 

All dead and d3dng wood should be removed by 
the workmen in descending the tree ; lichens, and 
other parasites which interfere with the growth of 
young trees, should be knocked off with the back 
of the pruning knife ; and the Mistletoe, the most 
destructive of all parasites to tree life, should be 



APPLICATION OF THE SYSTEM. 



33 



carefully removed by cutting off the branch bearing 
it.i 

The necessity of commencing the operation of prun- 
ing at the top of the tree must be insisted on ; in no 
other way can the form proper to the tree be es- 
tablished or the safety of the operator preserved. 
The disregard of this rule was followed not long 
ago by what might have been a severe accident. An 
excellent workman was about finishing the pruning of 







Fig. 27. — Pruning badly commenced. 

a Beech tree : two long, slender branches (A and B, 
Fig. 27) remained to be operated on. He cut the 

iln seme portions of the United States where the American 
species of Mistletoe flourishes, especially in the Mississippi States 
south of the Ohio, great damage is done to different trees by this 
plant. The destruction of the Black Walnut from this cause has 
become very general, and causes serious loss in some portions of 
Kentucky and Tennessee. c. s. s. 



34 TREE PRUNING. 

lower of the two brandies first ; the twigs on the 
ends of the branches had become interlocked, and the 
branch B, in falling, pulled down the branch A. This 
broke under the weight of the first, and, striking the 
operator on the head, inflicted a severe wound, causing 
his fall to the ground, a distance of twenty or thirty 
feet. 

The Amputation of Large Branches. — Many of the 
lower branches previously shortened must afterwards 
be removed, from time to time, until the necessary 
height of trunk has been attained. The number of 
branches to be removed must, of course, depend on 
the height of the tree, the nature of the soil in which 
it grows, and its age when first operated on. Great 
caution should be observed in amputating large 
branches ; small branches can, of course, be lopped off 
at any time without danger to the tree. We agree 
with de Courval that at least three medium-sized 
branches may be safely removed from a tree in one 
year ; although if the branches are very large, not 
more than one, or perhaps two, should be cut at one 
time. It is always desirable, however, not to unnec- 
essarily increase by the removal of living branches the 
wounds left on the trunk by the cutting off of dead 
branches or other excrescences. 

Whenever it is necessary to amputate a large or 
long branch, it should be cut first in such a manner 
as to leave a stump two or three feet long before the 
final operation of cutting it close to the trunk is un- 
dertaken (Fig. 28). In this way the danger of tearing 



APPLICATION OF THE SYSTEM. 



35 



away by the weight of the falling branch portions of 
the bark of the trunk maj^ be avoided. This will pre- 




Fig. 28. — Danger of beginning the amputa- 
tion of a long, heavy branch by a cut close 
to the trunk. A. Point at which the branch 
should be first cut. B. Branch badly cut ; the 
butt striking the workman. 

vent, too, the serious accidents which often occur 
when a large branch is cut at first close to the trunk, 
when the end striking the ground may cause the butt 
to fly up and throw down the workman. It is an in- 
dispensable condition of the prompt healing over and 
perfect circulation of sap that all wounds should be 
evenly cut and shaped as nearly as possible to the 
trunk of the tree. In order to secure this condition, 
the operation of amputatiiig a branch should be com- 



36 



TREE PRUNING. 



menced by making a notch on its lower side (A, Fig. 
29). This notch should reach the middle of the 




Fig. 29. — Method of preventing 
injury from the fall of a heavy 
branch by cutting notches on the 
lower and upper sides. 




Fig. 30. — Proper appearance 
of a wound caused by the ampu- 
tation of a large branch. 



branch ; a second notch, B, should then be made on 
the upper side of the branch, but further from the 
trunk of the tree than the cut A. By adopting this 
method all danger, too, of injury to the trunk from 
the weight of the falling branch tearing away the 
bark will be avoided. 

The operation of amputating a branch will not 
be complete, whatever method is employed, until 
the wound is made perfectly smooth (Fig. 30). The 
workman may do this with his hatchet used as a 
plane, the handle being held in one hand and the 
point of the blade in the other. 

Use of Coal-tar in Dressing Wounds. — All wounds 
made on the tree in pruning should be covered with 
a coat of coal-tar applied with an ordinary painter's 
brush. 



APPLICATION OF THE SYSTEM. 37 

The importance of observing tlie directions which 
have been given, however trivial or unimportant they 
may seem, will be apparent when it is understood 
that the entire success of the operations of pruning, 
and of the future production of timber, depends on 
the proper application of these rules. 

It should always be borne in mind that a cut 
perfectly smooth, and as closely following the line of 
the trunk as circumstances will permit, is soon 
recovered with healthy straight-grained wood. In 
this connection it is well to quote from de Courval, 
who speaks with the authority of experience, and 
who has shown with many varieties of trees the cor- 
rectness of his statements. " A casual examination," 
he says, '' will show that between the surface, 
which has been cut smooth and treated with coal- 
tar, and the new tissues which soon cover it, there 
is only the thinnest crack or fissure analogous to 
the natural cracks or openings whicli always appear 
in wood in seasoning, and which, as is well known, 
do not diminish its strength, elasticity, or value for 
all industrial purposes." 

In the preceding pages, the general rules which 
should be followed in pruning forest trees have 
been given ; the special methods applicable to each 
of the four classes in which trees have been placed 
according to their age will now be briefly explained. 



38 TREE PRUNING. 



CHAPTER IV. 

METHOD OF PRUNING RESERVE TREES OF DIFFERENT 
AGES. 

Young Trees. — Were it practical)le to train young 
forest trees from their early years in the manner 
adopted in nurseries to form ornamental specimens, 
they might, no doubt, be greatly improved, but in 
planting on a large scale this is of course impossible, 
and it will be assumed that the young trees destined 
to serve as reserves have been entirely neglected up to 
the time of the first cutting over of the plantation. 

Where it is the custom to cut over coppice once in 
every ten or fifteen years, the young reserve trees are 
often weak and without a proper proportion of lower 
branches ; and thus liable to break down under the 
too great weight of their tops. If the young trees 
are too weak to support a ladder, they must be bent 
down by the hand or by a forked stick, and the 
weight of the head reduced. 

The stem in the case of young trees should, if pos- 
sible, be furnished with branches for two thirds 
of its length ; and if the leader is dead, or out of 



PRUNING RESERVE TREES. 



39 




perpendicular, it should be cut off and a vigorous 
branch taken up to supply its place. This should 
be fastened in an upright position 
to the base of the original leader, 
and if some small branches can be 
left on this they may be used as 
withes to hold the new leader in place 
(Fig. 31). 

If the young tree is not strong enough 
to stand alone, it must be supported 
by means of a forked stick placed 
against the side to which it inclines JS;^-^^l^, 
(Fiff. 32), a cushion of moss or straw oq » yo"°g tree 

^ ° 1 1 1 /• twelve or fifteen 

being used to prevent the bark from years ow. 
chafing against the support. It would be better to 
permanently stake and tie all such feeble young trees, 
but in a large plantation this is not prac- 
ticable. 

When coppice is allowed to grow for 
twenty years or more, the young re- 
serve tree is less difficult to manage, has 
fewer unfavorable conditions to contend 
against, and has at least gained the ad- 
vantage of sufficient strength to support 

a ladder ; one of the upright upper 

branches can, if necessarv, be used to 

-^ iffg-. 32.— Method 

form a leader ; branches either too long of propping up a 
or growing in the wrong direction y*"""^ *'"^^- 
should be shortened or removed to give to the head 
the elongated shape required to prevent the excessive 




40 



TREE PRUNING. 



development of the lower branches (Fig 33). It may 
be well to add too, perhaps, that in pruning a young 
reserve tree twenty years old the main branches 
should be shortened to about three feet, not including 
the branchlets left at their extremities to provide the 





Fig. 33. — Young tree 
twenty years old correctly 
pruned. 



Fig. 34, — Method of forming 
a leader for a young tree by 
straightening up a lateral branch. 



tree with a sufficient supply of sap. Proportion- 
ately larger branches must of course be left on older 
and larger trees. 

Young trees grown in poor or imperfectly drained 
soil, or under the unfavorable conditions arising from 
want of light, are often destitute of proper leaders. 
Generally, as has already been explained, a leader can 
be formed b}^ straightening up a branch cither by the 
aid of a withe fastened to one of the shortened branches 
(Fig. 34), or more simply by a small branch twisted 
round the branch selected for the leader (Fig. 35). 



PRUNING RESERVE TREES. 



41 



The new leader thus formed will soon begin to grow, 
and in a short time will entirely change the appear- 
ance of a stunted sickly tree (Fig. 36), which, so 
treated, will become straight and vigorous. 





Fig. 35. — Method of forming a 
leader for a young tree by straight- 
ening up a lateral branch. 



Fig. 36. — Badly grown tree 
twenty to thirty years old. First 
pruning 



In the case of young trees with a forking main stem, 
only one of the leaders should be allowed to remain, 
and the one preserved should be the more nearly up- 
right of the two, without regard to its size or length. 
A strong strap, fastened to the stump of the suppressed 
branch, may, if necessary, be used to draw up the 
leader into a straight position (Fig. 37) ; when this is 
necessary proper precautions, however, must be taken 
to prevent the bark from being injured by the strap. 

Often young reserve trees otherwise desirable to pre- 
serve are unable, from the unfavorable conditions under 
which they have grown or on account of injuries re- 



42 



TREE PRUNING. 



ceived from falling trees, to support their own weight, 
and bend over to the ground. When possible such 
trees should be straightened and kept 
upright by the aid of a wire fastened 
to a neighboring tree. When a wire 
is used for this purpose, it should be 
fastened to a branch, and not to the 
trunk which it might, by its cutting 
and chafing, easily seriously injure. 

Should it be found impossible to 
straighten (Fig. 38) the young tree, 
it must, unless cut back close to the 
ground with the loss of several years' 
growth, be shortened in at some dis- 
tance (A) above the bend caused by 
the weight of the head ; and above a branch C, 
which, while furnishing the stump with sufficient 
sap, may be used as a withe to support in a ver- 




Fig. 37. — Removal of 
one of the leaders of a 
forked tree. 




Fig. 38. — Young tree bent to the ground by the weight of its top. 

tical position the young branch B, destined to 
form the new leader. The young tree thus reduced, 



PRUNING RESERVE TREES. 



43 



and propped up with a forked stick, will in a short 
time, the conditions being favorable, become a hand- 
some specimen. Such operations are important and 
should not be neglected, because, as has been ex- 
plained, it is often desirable to increase the capacity 
of a plantation to produce timber, by increasing the 
number of reserve trees in it. 

Middle-aged Trees. — As has been explained, in 
woods frequently cut over, the treatment necessary for 
young reserve trees is often complicated and difficult ; 
this is not the case with older trees. Trees of the 
second class constitute the most important part of the 
forest, and should receive careful pruning. This gen- 
erally is not difficult, and there are few trees of this 





Fis. 39. — Tree forty years 
old ; first pruning 



Fig. 40.— Tree sixty or seventy years 
old, first pruning (second year). 



class which may not be either entirely restored, or at 
least very materially improved, if the necessary sup- 



44 



TREE PRUNING. 



pressions and reductions are operated with judgment 
and courage (Fig. 39, 40). 

The lower brandies, which are often unnaturally 
developed and interfere with the growth of the rest 
of the tree, should be shortened to establish the 
proper form of head, wliile the leader should be 
treated in the manner already recommended (Fig. 
41.) 

A tree operated on in this manner will often appear 
very bare at first; but at the end of a few years the 
head will have regained a sufficient 
development. 

Old Trees. — It is hardly neces- 
sary to explain that old trees re- 
quire more cautious treatment than 
younger ones, which may if neces- 
sary be entirely remodelled. In 
pruning an old tree it is not a 
question of a leader or of increas- 
ing the size ; and it is only desir- 
able to regulate the shape of the 
head somewhat, by shortening when 
necessary such branches as in- 
terfere, by their length or position, 
with the equilibrium of the tree itself, or injure other 
trees in its vicinity. The heads of old trees should, 
as far as possible, be reduced to a more or less rounded 
ovoid, the lower branches being the shortest (Fig. 
42, 43). 

The main branches should be left six to twelve feet 




Fis. 41. — Badly shaped 
tree of the second class. 
First pruning. 



PRUNING RESERVE TREES. 



45 



long, or even longer if they are furnished with sufficient 
shoots to regulate the flow of sap, although it may be 





Fig. 42, 43. — Old Oaks, first pruning. 

well to repeat that the branches of the Beech should 
not be shortened, unless it can be done in such a man- 
ner as to insure, by abundant foliage at their ends, 
the supply of sap necessary for the regular develop- 
ment of the tree. In shortening branches, it is 
difficult, especially for beginners in the art of pruning, 
to determine the point at which the operation is best 
performed. Practice and experience soon teach this, 
however ; and, even if a few branches die under the 
operation, no very serious damage has been done. 
Two or three large branches can be safely removed at 
one time from old trees ; and, although it is not de- 



46 



TREE PRUNING. 



sirable to make many wounds on the trunk of an old 
tree, they are less injurious than dead and decaying 
branches, which produce cavities in the trunk that 
should be avoided at any cost. The branches of an 
old tree should not be allowed to interfere with the 
growth of a younger tree standing near and intended 
to replace it. In cases of this sort the branches of 
the old tree should be cut in on the side nearest the 
young tree much more severely than if it stood by 
itself (Fig. 44). 

Veterans. — If a tree of this class has been properly 
managed, the length of the trunk should equal one 

third to one half of its entire 
height. The method of 
pruning very old trees does 
not essentially differ from 
that recommended for trees 
belonging to the last class. 
All dead or dying wood 
should be carefully removed, 
and all old wounds not 
covered with a healthy 
growth of new wood should 
be reopened in the manner to be explained hereafter. 
All branches either disproportionately long or which 
might interfere with neighboring trees should be 
shortened ; and, should it appear advisable, one or 
two of the lower branches may be amputated. This 
can always be done without injury to the tree, and 
has the advantage of increasing the length of the 




Fig. 41 



PRUNING RESERVE TREES. 



47 



trunk and stimulating the growth of the top of the 
tree (Fig. 45). A tree is never so old that prun- 
ing, if practised with judg- 
ment and skill, cannot pro- 
long its life and increase 
its value. 

The restoration of an old 
Oak maybe cited in this con- 
nection. This tree, which 
stood in a hedge-row, was 
probably two hundred years 
old and had suffered ter- 
ribly from neglect and mu- 
tilation. The lower por- 
tion of the trunk was 
covered with the dead 
stumps of branches (Fig. 
46), their numerous protuberances being filled with 
cavities, and bristling with vigorous shoots. The top 
had begun to decay, and the tree seemed destined to 
speedy death. In pruning this tree, it became neces- 
sar}^ to make, in the space of a few feet, no less than 
seven wounds ten to twenty inches wide, in addition 
to many others of smaller size (Fig. 47). In spite of 
this heroic treatment the tree improved remarkably 
in health and vigor ; and the numerous wounds made 
on the trunk by the amputation of dead branches en- 
tirely healed over, as may be seen in Fig. 48. 

It must be acknowledged that, had this Oak been 
left in the condition to which neglect had reduced it. 




Very old tree ; first prun- 



48 



TREE PRUNING. 



or if nothing beyond lopping off from year to year the 
young shoots developed along the trunk had been at- 





Fig. 46. — Trunk of an Oak injured 
by neglect and bad pruning. 



F?>. 47. — Trunk of the same 
tree two years after treatment. 



tempted, its decay would have been rapid and com- 
plete ; without pruning it must soon have died 
without yielding anything more valuable than fire- 
wood. 

The removal of numerous branches, for the purpose 
of restoring vigor to a decrepit tree, may seem op- 
posed to what has* already been stated in regard to 
the functions of leaves in elaborating plant food ; 
and it might be argued that pruning must be inju- 
rious, because, in shortening or removing a branch, 
some of the leaf organs essential to the growth of the 
tree must also be destroyed. Such an argument is 
based on a popular error of very general acceptance. 

It is often claimed that the healthy growth of a 
plant depends on the number of its leaves. It is 



PBUNING RESERVE TREES. 



49 




not, however, the number of leaves, but the total 
superficial area of leaf surface, which determines the 
vigor of growth of the plant. 
An ordinary practice of the 
nurseries affords a familiar ex- 
ample. 

A seedling tree several years 
old bears, perhaps, twenty or 
thirty leaves ; its stem is not 
thicker than a quill, and it 
does not grow vigorously. If, 
however, this plant is cut down 
to the ground in the spring, it 
will be replaced, in four or five 

months, by a stout vigorous ^'V- 48.- OldOak restored to 
•^ '-' vigor by numerous large amputa- 

shoot often aninch in diameter, tions. 
but carrying perhaps only six or eight very large 
leaves ; the superficial leaf area of the new plant is 
larger, although the actual number of its leaves may 
be considerably smaller. This is what good pruning 
accomplishes ; i. e., while it may reduce the number of 
leaves on a tree, it increases their capacity to elabo- 
rate plant food through increased superficial area. 
Scientific pruning provides too, it must be remem- 
bered, an abundant leaf area on the branchlets left 
at the extremities of all shortened branches, and ar- 
ranges the branches theraselves in a manner to expose 
the largest surface of foliage to the oblique rays of 
the sun. It will be seen, then, that this apparent con- 
tradiction between the practice and theory of pruning 



50 TREE PRUNING. 

does not exist ; and that pruning, while it reduces, 
perhaps, the actual number of leaves on a tree, really 
increases its vigor by furnishing the largest possible 
leaf surface in the smallest possible space. 



TREATMENT OF OLD WOUNDS. 61 



CHAPTER V. 

THE TREATMENT OF OLD WOUNDS. — CAVITIES IN 
THE TRUNK. — THE REMOVAL OF SHOOTS. 

Bark once injured or loosened can never attach 
itself again to the trunk ; and whenever wounds, 
abrasures, or sections of loose bark exist on the trunk 
of a tree, the damaged part should be cut away 
cleanly as far as the injury extends. Careful persons 
have been known to nail on to a tree a piece of 
loosened bark, in the hope of inducing it to grow 
again, or at least of retaining on the young wood its 
natural covering. Unfortunately the result produced 
by this operation is exactly opposite to that intended. 
The decaying wood and bark attract thousands of 
insects, which find here safe shelter and abundant 
food ; and, increasing rapidly, hasten the death of the 
tree. 

In such cases, instead of refastening the loosened 
bark to the tree, it should be entirely cut away, care 
being taken to give the cut a regular outline, espe- 
cially on the lower side ; for, as has been already 
explained, if a portion of the bark (A, Fig. 49), 



52 



TREE PRUNING. 




even if adhering to the wood, is left without direct 
communication with the leaves, it must die and 
decay. A coating of coal-tar should, 
of course, be applied to such wounds. 

Loosened Bark. — It is necessary to 
frequently examine the lower portions 
of the trunk, especially of trees begin- 
ning to grow old ; for here is often 
found the cause of death in many trees, 
in the large sheets of bark entirely sepa- 
rated from the trunk. This condition 
of things, which often cannot be de- 
tected except by the hollow sound pro- 
F/-. 49. duced by striking the trunk with the 
back of the iron pruning knife, arrests the circulation 
of sap, while the cavity between the bark and the 
wood furnishes a safe retreat for a multitude of in- 
sects, which hasten the destruction of the tree. The 
dead bark should be entirely removed, even should it 
be necessary in so doing to make lai-ge wounds. 
Attention, too, should be given to injuries to the 
bark caused by the fall of neigliboring trees. These 
may remain hidden for years, and are often only 
detected by the peculiar sound produced by a blow 
of the pruning knife. Cases of this nature require 
the treatment recommended for the last class. 

Cavities in the Trunk. — Very often when a tree has 
been long neglected, the trunk is seriously injured by 
cavities caused by the decay of dead or broken 
branches. It is not claimed that pruning can remove 



TREATMENT OF OLD WOUNDS. 53 

defects of this nature : it can with proper application, 
however, arrest the progress of the evil, and in such 
cases should always be resorted to. The edge of the 
cavity should be cut smooth and even ; and all de- 
composed matter, or growth of new bark formed in 
the interior, should be carefully removed. A coatmg 
of coal-tar should be applied to the surface of the 
cavity, and the mouth plugged with a piece of well- 
seasoned oak, securely driven into place. The end 
of the plug should then be carefully pared smooth 
and covered with coal-tar, precisely as if the stump 
of a branch was under treatment. If the cavity is 
too large to be closed in this manner, a piece of thor- 
oughly seasoned oak-board, carefully fitted to it, may be 
securely nailed into the opening and then covered with 
coal-tar. It is often advisable to guard against the 
attacks of insects, by nailing a piece of zinc or other 
metal over the board, in such a way that the growth 
of the new wood will in time completely cover it. 

These operations resemble, if such a comparison 
is admissible, the fillings performed by dentists, and 
with the same object, — to check the progress of 
decay. 

A glance at Fig. 50 shows what takes place when 
cavities in the trunks of trees are treated in the man- 
ner recommended. On the right a cavity treated in 
this manner is shown. New layers of healthy straight- 
grained wood have already formed ; the circulation 
of sap is regular and healthy ; and the tree is entirely 
restored to health. On the left an old neglected 



54 



TREE PRUNING. 




wound may be seen. These instructions are equally- 
applicable to the treatment of large wounds, caused 
by the fall of branches broken by the wind, or by 
any other cause (Fig. 4). 

Removal of Shoots. — During 
the spring following the opera- 
tion of pruning, or even sooner 
if the tree has been pruned 
during the active flow of sap, 
numerous shoots are developed 
along the trunk, and especially 
along the lower portion of the 
branches. The number of such 
F/g. 50. — On the right an old shoots varics greatly in differ- 

caTity properly treated .and stop- i i i ^ ^ 

ped : and recovered at the end of CUt trCCS ; aUQ althOUgh thcy 

twenty years with sound straight- ^^^ ^^^ entirely thc rCSUlt of 
grained wood. On the left a wound -^ 

of the same sort abandoned and pruning, for SUCh shoOtS appear 
causing decay to penetrate to the i • i i 

heart of the tree. ou trccs which havc ncvcr bccn 

pruned, still it is clear that their number and vigor 
bear a certain relation to the number and size of the 
branches removed in pruning, and that the more se- 
verely a tree is pruned the more of these shoots it will 
develop. 

The removal of these lateral shoots is essential to 
a healthy growth of the tree, and may be easily ac- 
complished with a little pruning hook (Fig. 51), so 
light that it can be used by a child if necessary. The 
sharp blade is worked up and down in the direction 
of the grain of the wood ; the little hook rounded at 
the end is also sharpened, and can be used in cutting 




TREATMENT OF OLD WOUNDS. 35 

and pulling down shoots not entirely severed by the 
blade. 

The following method may be adopted in removing 
these young shoots. When the second or August 
growth of the tree is finished, and the 
young shoots are still soft and tender, that 
is in August and September, a workman 
armed with two pruning hooks, fastened 
on long tough handles of different lengths, 
and carrying his pruning knife in his belt, 
commences the operation by cutting off all 
the shoots within reach of his knife. 

This is continued first with the short and 
then with the long-handled pruning hook, 
with which he will be able to reach to the 
top of the trunk of an ordinary-sized tree. 
In the case of very tall trees it will, of 
course, be necessary to use a ladder; and, ^.^ ^^ _ 
although this will make the removal of the Pruning took. 
shoots a longer and more expensive operation, it 
should not on this account be neglected. The pres- 
ence of a few shoots, along the upper part of the 
trunk of a large tree, does not materially interfere 
with its growth ; their proximity to large branches, by 
which they are necessarily shaded and overtopped, 
checks their growth and prevents any great injury to 
the tree. As a general rule, however, all such shoots 
developed on the trunk below the branches should be 
removed, except from very young trees, insufiiciently 
supplied with foliage, or when less than one third of 



36 TREE PRUNING. 

their height is regularly furnished with branches. In 
such cases several shoots should be left to supply the 
place of branches and to regulate the flow of sap 
(Fig. 52). 

0, It is often desirable to make two 

''^p^ operations of lopping these shoots. 
Those on the lower portion of the trunk 



^ 



may be cut during the first half of July; 
while those higher up on the tree may 
be left until September, to aid the flow 
of sap and hasten the healing of the 
wounds made in removing those first 
cut. 
Fig. 52.- Pres- Thc rcmoval of these shoots is one of 

ervation of shoots , . 

on the stem of a the uiost uiiportant operations connected 
Lro/TufficS; ^^ith scientific pruning, and it should be 
branches. carcfully performed as long as they con- 

tinue to appear, that is during two or three or at most 
four years if the tree was skilfully pruned at first. 



SEASON FOR PRUNING. 57 



CHAPTER VI. 

SEASON FOE PRUNING. — THE USE OF COAL-TAR. 

Season for Priming. — The most favorable season of 
the year for pruning is the autumn, when the days are 
still long and pleasant. The sudden and severe frosts, 
however, which often occur at this season of the year, 
are dangerous, and in some instances have a tendency 
to cause decay in freshly made wounds. In winter 
the days are too short, and often too stormy, to allow 
continuous work of this nature ; while the loss of sap 
which occurs when trees are pruned in the spring, 
although considerably checked by the use of coal-tar, 
is probably rightly considered injurious. The leaves 
interfere with pruning during the summer months 
when, too, there is danger of the workmen inflict- 
ing injury on the growing tender shoots of neigh- 
boring trees ; but a tree may be pruned at any season 
of the year, and the best time for pruning is that 
which is most convenient, and when it can be most 
cheaply performed. 

All trees, whatever the nature of the soil in which 
they grow, may be advantageously and profitably 



58 TBEE PR UNING, 

pruned, with the exception perhaps of trees growing 
on ver}^ poor and barren soil. These, as a general rule, 
can produce nothing more valuable than fuel, and 
hardly justify the cost and labor of pruning. 

The Use of Coal-tar. — Coal-tar, a waste product of 
gas works, is a dark-brown imperishable substance 
with the odor of creosote. It can be applied with an 
ordinary painter's-brush, and may be used cold, except 
in very cold weather, when it should be slightly 
warmed before application. Coal-tar has remarkable 
preservative properties, and may be used with equal 
advantage on living and dead wood. A single appli- 
cation without penetrating deeper than ordinary paint 
forms an impervious coating to the wood cells, which 
would without such covering, under external influ- 
ences, soon become channels of decay. This simple 
application then produces a sort of instanta- 
neous cauterization, and preserves from decay wounds 
caused either in pruning or by accident. The odor of 
coal-tar drives away insects, or prevents them, by 
complete adherence to the wood, from injuring it. 
After long and expensive experiments the director of 
the Parks of the City of Paris finally, in 1863, adopted 
coal-tar in preference to other preparations used for 
covering tree wounds, as may be seen in all the prin- 
cipal streets of the capital. 

Objections to other Preparations. — Efforts have been 
made for a long time to discover some method of 
covering the wounds inflicted on trees, either acciden- 
tally or by the hands of man. The remedy usually 



SEASON FOR PRUNING. 59 

recommended from time immemorial is the oint- 
ment of St. Fiacre, a mixture of loam and cow 
dung. Various preparations, too, used in grafting, 
and having rosin, wax, and grease, as their basis, have 
at different times been very generally recommended 
for this purpose. These preparations are expensive ; 
and, as they must be aj^plied hot, it is not prac- 
ticable to use them on a large scale. Their use, too, 
is attended with serious difficultieSo As the new 
growth of wood spreads over the wound, these thick 
coatings are either broken or pushed aside bodily, ac- 
cording to the power of resistance of the material 
used ; and the wood is again exposed and a safe 
retreat for injurious insects prepared. 

One coat of coal-tar is sufficient for wounds of or- 
dinary size ; but, when they are exceptionally large, a 
second coat may, after a few years, be well applied. 
In warm countries, like the south of France, the great 
heat of summer renders coal-tar so liquid that it is 
often impossible to properl}^ treat wounds made at 
that season. In such cases another coat should be 
applied during the following winter. 

Effects of Coal-tar on the Elm. — The effect of coal- 
tar on the Elm is not always as satisfactory as upon 
other forest trees, such as the Oak, Ash, Sycamore, 
Birch, Maple, etc. The application of a coat of coal- 
tar on all of these gives at once to the wound a hard 
firm surface ; on the Elm, however, it does not always 
adhere firmly, owing to the formation on the surface 
of the wound of the water blisters common to this 



60 TREE PRUNING. 

tree. In such cases the coal-tar which does not 
adhere firmly should be rubbed off and another coat 
applied to the wound. 

Employment of Coal-tar in protecting Young Plantations 
against Animals. — Coal-tar may be used with excellent 
effect in protecting young plantations from the at- 
tacks of rabbits, and other game, or such domestic 
animals as goats and sheep. Satisfactory results have 
been obtained too, from the use of coal tar in protect- 
ing young trees from horses, which often take special 
delight in tearing off the entire bark from certain 
kinds of trees, particularly Elms and Poplars. This 
is not, however, always a' safe or desirable remedy, as 
it necessitates covering a large part of the stem, and 
this is often fatal to the tree either by producing 
asphyxia, from which trees treated in this manner 
are liable to suffer, or, perhaps, by the action of the 
powerful acid contained in coal-tar itself, which, used 
in large quantities, might perhaps affect the sap. 

Employment of Coal-tar on Fruit Trees. — It is for 
this reason that the application of coal-tar should not 
be made except with considerable caution in the treat- 
ment of wounds on drupacious fruit trees (Cherries, 
Peaches, Plums, etc.), and especially on the Plum- 
tree. It has often been observed that the bark of 
fruit trees of this class have suffered from the appli- 
cation of coal-tar. This is not the case, however, 
with Pome-bearing trees (Apples, Pears, etc.) ; to 
these coal-tar may be applied with perfect safety. 

It must not be supposed from these remarks that 



SEASON FOR PRUNING. 61 

coal-tar cannot be used on the Plum, or other trees of 
its class. On the contrary, there is no substance which 
can replace it in the treatment of large wounds on 
these trees ; but it should be used cautiously, espe- 
cially in the case of young trees, and should not be 
allowed to needlessly run down the trunk ; and it is 
well to remember that the more active a remed}^, the 
greater the care necessary in its application. 



62 TREE PRUNING, 



CHAPTER YII. 

SOFT WOODS. — POPLARS.— CONIFERS. 

Soft Woods. — Woods with little density or strength 
are called "soft woods " or '* white woods," in dis- 
tinction from hard woods, such as oak, elm, ash, etc. 
Such woods are easy to work and in great de- 
mand for many purposes. The trees yielding wood 
of this sort grow often three or four times as rapidly 
as hard-wood trees, and are therefore more profitable 
to cultivate. To this class belong many trees with 
deciduous foliage such as the Poplars, Willows, Lin- 
dens, etc., and most conifers. The general rules for 
pruning are applicable to trees of this class, and it is 
only necessary to say a few words in regard to the 
treatment proper for Poplars and Conifers. 

Poplars. — The Poplars, owing to their rapid growth 
and the excellent quality of the wood yielded by 
them, constitute a group of considerable interest. The 
growth of these trees is often so rapid that it is prac- 
ticable to make the length of their trunks equal one 
third to one half of the entire height of the tree, and 
thus greatly increase their value for industrial pur- 



SOFT WOODS. 63 

poses. The large branches of trees of this family are 
very brittle, and are easily broken by wind or ice, and 
should be shortened in the manner already explained 
for hard-wood trees. 

Conifers. — These trees, which are generally grega- 
rious and form extensive forests, are valuable subjects 
for Sylviculture, on account of the readiness with 
which they reproduce themselves from seed, and be- 
cause they admirably prepare the soil to produce hard 
woods and especially the Oak. Of the two operations 
of pruning — the cutting close to the trunk, and the 
shortening of branches — the second need not often 
be applied to the natural pyramidal form of Firs and 
Spruces : for these trees nothing is necessary beyond 
removing, when possible, dead or dying branches. 

The Pines, however, when not growing under the 
conditions peculiar to them, that is crowded together, 
often develop enormous branches, which greatly in- 
terfere with the beauty and the value of the trunk, 
the only portion of the tree possessed of any value. 
The rules laid down for shortening the branches of 
Oaks and other deciduous trees are, in case of neces- 
sity, applicable to Pines ; that is, one third or one half 
of the length of the branches may be safely cut away. 
It is essential, however, to preserve at the end of the 
shortened branches an abundant supply of foliage as 
the branch of a coniferous tree deprived of leaves is 
more certain to perish than the branch of a deciduous 
tree under similar circumstances. A Pine may in this 
way be made to assume the natural form it would have 



64 TREE PRUNING. 

had if grown under normal conditions ; the trunk 
lengthens and thickens regularly, giving to the tree 
an economic value for many purposes of construction, 
and especially for the masts and spars of vessels. 

As a Pine grows, the lower branches die and dry up. 
The resin with which these are impregnated prevents 
their decay ; and these dead branches, embedded in the 
new wood form the knots which interfere with the 
growth of the tree and produce holes in the boards 
and planks cut from it. Such defects can be greatly 
diminished by cutting off all dead or dying branches 
close to the trunk ; while a coat of coal-tar will pre- 
vent or reduce the flow of resin from the wound. 

The practice of leaving a short stump to an ampu- 
tated branch, adopted by some persons to prevent the 
loss of sap, although less objectionable in the case of 
coniferous trees, should never be 
adopted. Such stumps must be 
cut again the following year close 
to the trunk, or cushions of wood 
will form about their base, cover- 
ing the trunk with protuberances 
(Fig 53). These greatly injure 
Fig. 53. — Effect on the \\-^q appearaucc and value of the 

Pines of leaving the stump . i i i • 

of an amputated branch. trCC, aud neCCSSltatC, ShOUM it 

be found desirable to remove later such excrescences, 
wounds two or three times as large as an original cut 
close to the trunk would have made. 

The custom of pruning Pines is very general in 
France, and is often carried to excess. The removal 




SOFT WOODS. 65 

of all branches, with the exception of a few at the top 
of the tree, must greatly interfere with the growth in 
diameter of the trunk ; and healthy branches should 
not be removed for the sake of creating a clean trunk 
of more than one half or at the most two thirds of 
the entire height of the tree. The general rule of 
pruning already explained in the case of deciduous 
trees, and which establishes a proportion between the 
number of branches which should be removed and 
the size of the tree, might with advantage be more 
generally applied in the treatment of Pines. 






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